The welcoming of the Damned Chess pieces were not unwelcome after the sheer battle with the Geryon, but the descent was filled with silence, so Lady decided to break the ice. "So... you said Dracula existed in your world and reigned, so why are you here instead of...?"
"The latest incarnation of Dracula is a student by the name of Soma Cruz, but he has regained a sense of morality and has all of the power and the mental will to control it proper, it was an issue with a cult and a madmen deluding in believing that he was the rebirth of Dracula because he was born on the day that Dracula was fully defeated. That was the matter at hand and handled." Alexander answered as he hummed before continuing. "But, with decent terms with the Reaper, he inquired of me to handle this Temen-Ni-Gru, for some reason, demons have been trying to pour out from this world and into my world, he and his rival Saint Germain have been beating them back, but he sent me here to close the Temen-Ni-Gru permanently... he didn't have an answer if I can go back home..." Alexander answered and Lady bit her lip before she spoke again.
"Well, even if that is the case... was there anyone there you would miss...?" Alexander huffed with a playful tone as he answered.
"Several, actually, two of the best members of a company I lead, Morgan who is a seamstress and a capable rogue and Walhart who was the shield against the dark, my friend and brother-in-arms Kenmur, Morgan's little sister Sapphire, and-" He stopped before closing his mouth, Lady glancing to Dante, he nodding as he asked.
"Was... was there someone you loved...?"
"Yeah..." Alexander slumped in thinking about them. "Shanoa was a warrior herself and I saved her during my first bout, but we came to deeply care for the other. We even bonded over Mist, a girl with silver hair and orange eyes who was in a terrible situation and we rescued her from it... I..." He breathed with resting a hand to his face and speaking. "I am... going to miss them and everything, but between living a normal life and fighting the corrupted nature of a world, they would want me to deal with it." He breathed with continuing on, doing a bit of a mirror direct puzzle before arriving to a massive door that stood before them, Alexander taking the moment to inspect the ground in finding a faint residue of blood.
He ran a finger on it and rubbed it together as he spoke. "Arkham was here, Vergil stabbed him right here..." He stood back up and stepped back before focusing power, Dante and Lady bracing before he used it, expanding a dome around them, the area dimming out, but the addition of phantasms of both Arkham and Vergil formed at the door as Lady questioned. "What exactly are you doing...?"
"Investigating the scene, we are aware of the path, I thought to see what happened that would have occurred." Dante nodded in watching, Arkham opening the way for Vergil, but his attention was elsewhere and Vergil noticed as Dante mused.
"Vergil is quite the eye, he noticed it and inquired Arkham about Lady, why he didn't put an end to her..." The scene moved like they were there as Vergil stabbed him, but didn't pull the blade free as he spoke, muted, but Dante got the gist of it with Arkham speaking back. "My brother knew about Arkham's attempt to gain demonic power, thinking that he would be of more help, but it ended here, but Arkham seems to have sassed back, knowing of Vergil's divide between human and demon blood." Vergil pulled Yamato free, sheathing the blade before it clicked and Arkham fell with a gush of blood. "Well, for being the older one, he is certainly dumb for believing Arkham, he must have been under the impression that only the fused Amulet and our blood will be enough to open the seal."
"I don't like this... being baited here and having this confrontation with your brother, my..." Lady hummed sadly with the line before she tried again, having seen at least a vision or telling of the partnership falling apart. "...Arkham clearly didn't do things by half, he wants you to fight Vergil, weakening the both of you and leaving me confused on what is going on."
"Well, we are ahead of the curve." Dante replied with taking out the Orihalcon they got to open the passage likely and placed it in as he spoke. "So let's see what my brother has to say." They nodded and heading in, finding Vergil pacing before the center of the room before he exclaimed, frustration heavy on his tongue.
"Why isn't this working?!" The trio exchanged looks before Dante headed right while the other two moved to the left as Vergil growled at the place not reacting as he wanted it to be. "Is there something missing? Must more blood be shed?" Dante finally spoke, drawing his brother's attention to him while Lady crouched for a signal while Alexander kept on the path a bit more before getting low.
"You seem to be in a bad mood." Vergil didn't hide his frustrated tone form his younger brother as he spoke.
"Dante." He shifted for a fight as Dante 'puzzled' it all out.
"So my mother's amulet is the key that unlocks to the Demon World." He chuckled with continuing to step, glancing up as if telling it to his father. "Good plan, Pop." Vergil corrected as he spoke back to his brother.
"Just the opposite actually... Originally it was the key to the Demon World, but was given to humans as a gift." Dante huffed with rounding about.
"It doesn't matter to me one way or the other." He continued with getting to the core of the meet-n-greet. "More importantly, I've come all this way." He faced his brother fully with pulling free Rebellion and pointing it at Vergil. "I'm sure you have time for one more game, right?" Vergil pulled Yamato out a bit before sheathing it back as he voiced.
"Why not? After all we share the same blood." He shifted from wielding a sword to a boxing form as glowing white fists and boots formed on him, telling the trio where Beowulf had turned up. "I'll just use more of yours to undo daddy's little spell."
"So, you want a piece of me, literally." Dante didn't back down as he answered with thrusting Rebellion forward again. "Okay bro. Come and get it, if you can!" The two clashed and it was apparent that Dante had greatly improved, his previous fight was more of Vergil playing with him before stabbing him and awakening the Devil Trigger. Now, Vergil was getting his butt canned before he started to mix brawling with Yamato and using his own Devil Trigger in trying to take out Dante as their blades clashed, blood splattering all over the place before a rocket was fired, Dante reacting first in slashing from the side while Vergil chopped the projectile, killing it as Lady stood with Kalina Ann aimed, Dante blinking at only her before noticing that Alexander was missing and had a bad feeling as he huffed, to play along. "Sorry, but this is no place for a little girl. So beat it."
"Shut Up!" She fired at Dante with keeping track of the fight, she dashing into their clashing to get a shot on Vergil before he knocked her away and almost cleaved her when Dante saved her in lessening the blow before she held up the Kalina Ann in blocking the katana as she scowled with a plausible answer. "You forced him into this!"
"Is that what you think?" Vergil answered as he spoke otherwise. "Foolish girl." He noticed that, instead of shock that it was the other way around, her face still donned a solemn look before he clashed with Dante again, Lady keeping track as both slashed and weakened themselves enough for their healing factors to try overcharging to fix them up quickly before the chamber saw its fifth visitor with a clap, the Jester, as he exclaimed.
"Bravo, bravo!" The clown answered with Lady slightly distracted with the texture of the chamber itself as the clown spoke. "I never dreamed that things would go so smoothly. Well done, everyone. Well done!"
"You!" Dante growled and Lady finally reacted, but the barrel was held away from the Jester as he spoke with closing the gap on her.
"Don't be a bad girl, Mary!" He effortlessly tossed her overhead before she crashed into the stone, her body now sore from the toss, but nothing broken. "Or you can expect a spanking from daddy later!" Jester started chanting with the Kalina Ann on his shoulder. "Jester's gonna spank your butt. Spank you on the butt."
"Insane buffoon." Vergil growl, drawing the chant to a stop, as he held Yamato ready to cut down this annoyance. "I don't know where you came from, but you don't belong here." He swished the blade as the launcher was dropped behind the clown. "Now leave!" he closed the gap, but his swing was caught, surprising him as Jester spoke with amuse.
"Zowie, that was close!" Dante peered about for Alexander, gritting his teeth as his friend... slumped forward with a number of wounds gushing out with Agni and Rudra trying to keep him awake as Jester taunted Vergil. But you've taken quite a trouncing today, haven't you, Vergil?" He ran his fingered to the higher part of the blade and easily pulled it down in mocking. "You've could've chopped me into confetti by now if you were in tip-top condition."
"Damn you!" Jester spoke again, but the voice was not Jester's, it was someone else.
"You have lost..." Vergil's shock was coupled with getting shoved, skidding across the ground as where Jester stood, Arkham took his place, if Dante had been watching carefully in Quicksilver, the change was almost-instant with the pale skin changing color, the nose shrinking right back, and gaining a burn scar across the left side of his face, the jester costume changing to the dark-green color again as Arkham spoke with Lady recovering a bit from the toss. "...because you underestimated humans."
"What's going on?!" Lady gaped as Alexander was correct, Arkham was back up and healed fully, letting them tire each other out while he was at full strength as Arkham spoke with turning to her.
"Good girl, pure and innocent... just like your mother." A raise at her and she growled in trying to pull her pistol to shoot.
"You bastard!" But just as quickly, Jester took hold and stopped her as he exclaimed.
"It's time for your spanking, my dear!" He slammed her head into the stone, not enough to crack it, but to stun her as Jester spoke in amuse. "You want to know why the spell didn't break, hmm, Vergil!?" The older twin tried to get up as Jester monologued. "You have the two amulets and Sparda's blood. You had everything you needed to unleash the evil!" Dante stepped up, having hurled a Vital Star to Alexander to get him healing, but he wasn't sure if it could work for him and that he was only living on borrowed time.
"I told you before, I don't like anybody who has a bigger mouth than mine." Jester gasped before Dante fired at the clown, but unstable as Jester moved to go overhead and hit.
"You are wounded and weak. Even I can do..." He leapt from the ceiling and drove Dante into the ground with a cheer. "...this to you!" He laughed before it stopped just as quick to Arkham strode for Lady.
"Two amulets... a set of Sparda's blood. Now I need one more key." He picked up the Kalina and walked closer to Lady as he explained. "He sacrificed two things to suppress the tremendous force of this tower: His own Devil's blood and a mortal priestess." He raised the bayonet up and thrusted it down, halting halfway with the weapon falling, slashing Lady's leg a bit as she breathed to the pain a bit, Arkham growling as a rapier pierced his arms and their holder being Alexander with blood dripping from his lips and holding a gash at his gut.
"Interesting... enough to make me check it over and I am thankful for chatterboxes... after all, who better voices to hear it than from guardians of the Temen-Ni-Gru itself." He ripped up, Arkham gasping as the tissue slowly healed to his growl at Alexander holding the fencing weapon in hand with injured grace. "You left Vergil with two keys, the third you kept to your chest as you lead Dante about as Jester, you even falsified a death in leading Lady along, to this exact chamber, where the final rites could be made as her blood is descendant to the priestess..." Arkham growled before lunging, Alexander fending him off as he spoke. "Just so, you couldn't risk the brothers from beating you to the prize, so you made sure that they were weakened enough for you to swoop in, stealing away the power of the Sparda, the Dark Knight Sparda's own blade made whole through the complete Amulet." He slashed, ripping Arkham's face open on the right side as he spoke, Dante seeing the Vital Star, but it was bloody in hand, cracked that it was now, but it did not break fully, like his strength couldn't shatter it and noticed that Agni and Rudra were right behind him.
"You will not deny my ascendance!"
"You are not a god, you never will be." Alexander answered with defiance in his tampering voice. "Only those of noble hearts... can wield the Sparda and maintain its great power, any darkness seeded within... will only mutilate and change them into what they truly are, abominations... of stagnant power." He breathed in actively warding Arkham off, even with Arkham's demonic power coming to light in trying and failing to put Alexander fully down. "A man who sacrificed everything, humanity as well, would only... have the strength of the Sparda, they would never grow from it, they would only be at the same level as Sparda. I have seen... the differences and I believe that in both Dante and Vergil... they have the true power in the end..." He stopped with the wounds finally break his body as the rapier started to droop. "Demons are forever stuck at one strength, humans have the ability to adapt and change to what they can do... the ideal of human form and demon essence, that would forever be their eternal state... to surpass even the gods that rule the Demon World..." He stumbled before he fell backwards into the wall, his eyes dimming out as the blade fell, Jester now laughing at the sheer resistance as he bellowed.
"I hope your mother enjoys your sweet soul being snuffed out!" He laughed in madness before Lady grunted, surprising him as she spoke with vengeance in her eyes, the Kalina Ann aimed at his face.
"Try me." Vergil and Dante, the devil hunter stashing both Devil Arms, closed the gap with blades out and crossed behind the head, they recovering enough to threaten the mad human.
"It's time for the clown to bow out, Arkham."
"Dude, the show's over!" Arkham returned with staring at the center, past Lady as he mused.
"Impressive. I expected nothing less from the Devil's descendants. But aren't you forgetting something, Vergil?" The man was too calm in the situation as Lady's leg dripped with blood, right down to the stone and the center was starting to glow with the center raising up. "The spell if broken. What do you think will happen next? Let's welcome chaos!" The ceiling opened as the platform arose, stumbling the trio enough for them to miss Arkham as he swept under the leg and tossed them all off as he exclaimed with a thirst of power in his eyes. "Just sit and wait! Wait for the birth of a new God! I shall take over the power of Sparda!" He laughed as the tower trembled and rumbled with parts and pieces falling, Vergil falling unconscious and into the depths while Dante saved Lady from falling as well...
The tower utterly changed with the raising pillar, but Dante and Lady stood over the body of Alexander, it having been sitting quietly at the intact wall there, Lady tightening her grip on the Kalina Ann while Dante picked up Beowulf, it having lost Vergil when he tumbled into the dark, whether he was alive or not was for later as Dante spoke. "...He tried to crush it, by Sparda did he... but it didn't shatter, it didn't break... I thought that the Vital Star would have healed him... I thought..."
"...He was too weakened as well, Arkham must have surprised him..." Lady breathed in not shedding a tear, the scar on her leg a memento of him stepping in and keeping her okay, even at the cost of his own life, it would have been worse if he hadn't. "We'll... I'll give him a proper burial... when this is over, it's what he deserves, no matter how brief his time with us was." Dante glanced up the pillar and back to Lady as he spoke, Agni and Rudra Alexander's token to him.
"We'll have to fight, you know." She turned to him as the half-demon spoke. "Your dad is nuts and will have to be put down, but this whole mess is my father's work, so whether I like it or not, only one of us will have the chance to deal him out, if we meet further up, you know that... right?"
"...I do..." Lady breathed in firing the bayonet as a grapple and making it stable enough before she spoke back to Dante. "And I intend to make sure that you are up to snuff, it would really put a damper on your rep if you got your ass kicked by a woman, Mr. Devil Hunter." She retracted and flew as Dante laughed as he called out.
"Considering a few friends of mine are girls and hunters at that, I don't see a big loss yet!" He chuckled before he turned back to Alexander and strode over to him with Rebellion in hand, planting the edge at Alexander's chest in speaking. "The Rebellion woke me up, melding my demon and human blood together and my Devil Trigger activated with my life ebbing out briefly... I know that this is late, but... I am hoping that, as a send-off, you get a stab through the chest, to see if the Rebellion can meld your crazy power with yourself... I am hoping that... it will be a nice time up there..." he breathed with pushing the blade through, blood running down the blade before he pulled it free with a sigh. "See ya around... Alexander..." He turned and headed off into the changed tower, leaving the chamber behind as a small sickle or kama quietly formed in the dead palm before it turned into dark violet wisps and slipped into the wound, closing it up first at a slow pace before the flesh started to mend and heal itself...
The trip was really weird, but not enough for Dante in getting warped out and catching Lady's motorcycle, using it to ride his way to the top and thrashing demons with it, it not being durable enough to withstand the beatdown before he pressed on, fighting off demons called the Fallen and more, as he navigated the tower, its strange new form and twisting path making it tough to even move forward, but if the tolling bells heard from above were any sign of trouble, it was time to pick up the pace as he felt more demonic power in the air with more demons appearing to stop him, it could only mean that Arkham had succeeded in opening the passage.
He quickly headed out to find the Golden Sun and the Onyx Moonstone to open the path further in, finding Lady in the Divine Library, panting as Dante spoke, to spark up some conversation. "Well, I can't say you're not determined, but you don't look too great right now, the climb must have been exhausting."
"Yeah, it would have been... a bit worse with my leg if it was... stabbed with Kalina instead of cut." Lady breathed with getting up and speaking. "Still, you're here and that just means we got a fight on our hands so let me vent." Dante nodded as she drew her pistol. "This is not something you can reason with. This has nothing to do with me being a human and you being a demon." She ripped loose on her frustration of finally finding the man and he toying with her and so many others for his selfish gains as she jabbed the pistol into Dante's chest. "I'm driven by the inability to forgive him. My soul is screaming, demanding me to kill him." He took the pistol off her hands as she slumped a bit. "That's enough motivation to keep me going." She stepped back to grab the Kalina and hoist it onto her back as she spoke. "Currently, this is my family matter, Dante. I am asking that you stay out of it for a bit." She strode past him as he turned to her.
"Okay Lady, I get the picture now. But I can't just sit back and watch either. I'm pretty pissed at him too, ya know." He tossed her gun back to her before quick drawing Ebony and Ivory. "Now, get out of my way or there'll be some consequences." Both understood and she agreed, their comradery decent, but they had some things to hash out.
"Fair enough." She whiplashed the Kalina Ann out as she spoke. "I wasn't planning to let any demons live anyway. Not even one!" She fired and he dodged, the battle now on as Lady fought Dante at range, she knew that she was no good getting up close to him to do any damage without suffering dire damage herself, but Dante was quickly put on guard with Lady using Artemis in her spread of micro-missiles, pistol and submachine fire, and grenades before he tired her out, she firing his pistol several times without aim before it clicked and he loomed over her as he spoke.
"I'll take care of him." He pushed off and Lady spoke, wanting to hear it from him even when she already knew it.
"Why do you care so much?" Dante did so as he paused and paced about in front of her.
"This whole business started with my father sealing the entrance between the two worlds. And now my brother's trying to break that spell and turn everything into demonville. This is my family matter too." He huffed as he walked about again to her nod. "Quite frankly, at first, I didn't give a damn. But because of you, I know what's important now. I know what I need to do." He turned to leave before Lady spoke up.
"Wait!" He paused before turning back around with a bit of flair.
"Trust me, I'll make things right for you. That's what my soul is telling me to do." As if to assure it, Lady took off the Kalina Ann and offered it to Dante, with the Artemis as well as she spoke.
"Use these." Dante hummed as he asked.
"How much is it gonna cost me?" She pulled them back to replying, as a proper introduction to each other.
"You can give me your name." With that, Dante replied, he gave her a name from her former and abandoned name of Mary as Lady, so he returns it by giving his own name to her.
"Dante." She nodded and offered the weapons, he taking them off her hands and hoisting the Kalina onto his shoulder as he made to go as Lady called out.
"Dante." He paused to look at her as she requested. "Please, free my father." He gave a nod as he promised.
"I will, Lady." he headed out as she slumped against one of the pillars and dipped her head to her knees in finally catching a breath and wishing Dante luck in his mission...